I am so confused about laser hair removal!?!?!

Hair Removal Methods Laser hair removal
#1

Hey everyone i am brand new to this forum and i am very excited about getting advice from the site :slight_smile:

I am so confused about my laser hair removal treatments and need some advice!?!?

I am a young guy and have been doing laser hair removal for about 2 years now. I have had just about every part of my body hit by laser at least once! my main focus when i originally went in was to have my thick beard zapped away and being full Italian and Sicilian im am a hairy guy with thick hair.
At the salon i go to the staff is great and they seem to know what they are talking about? they use a alexandrite gentlelase laser there and that is what they been using on me for the past 2 years.
The problem is from my experience with just about over 15 treatments done i have not seen much results over this period time?
I am a skin type 4 from what i think and have olive skin. Nancy my practitioner is great and she said the laser is safe for my skin tone at a lower setting? “and i have been burned before!” but from what i come to learn i feel that the treatments are not being effective for me at all :frowning:
the laser is set to 16 joules which seems to be high enough for effective treatment but i don’t know if i should try another laser or just give up on this long journey of disappointment?

hair regrowth is thinner and maybe a slight reduction,but i feel like the laser has activated hair and created new hair growth on parts of my body that didn’t have hair before or only had some light peach fuzz? i am so confused and disappointed i dont know if i should maybe try a diode laser cause my skin my not be effective with the alexandrite laser?
but im scared too cause i dont want to get any hairier then i already am. has anyone had this happen before or is there any advice about what i should do?
it would be greatly appreciated!!

#2

  • The problem is not the machine, but what they’re doing with it.

  • Laser should only be used on coarse dense growth. Yes, it can stimulate more growth when treating finer hair. They shouldn’t have treated that type of hair.

  • 16 joules on what spot size? This is important. On 18mm, it’s not a bad setting, but on anything under 18mm, it’s a very low setting. The problem with using low settings is that there isn’t enough heat applied to destroy the follicle, thus the lack of results.

  • Please find out the spot size used and we can help you further. Also, please outline all the areas where you actually have coarse dense hair still.

  • Also, please read the FAQs at the link below.

#3

Ok so i just talked to Nancy my technician about what spot size she is using on me.

she said at 16 joules and a 18mm spot size would be way to high and powerful for my skin type. it would burn me what she said!
she said she doesn’t even use that on herself unless she has been out of the sun for a couple months and she is a lot lighter in skin tone then me.

I kind of feel she is right with my skin tone cause i am a light brown skin tone and barley burn when im out at the beach?
she said she uses different settings at different times i come in cause sometimes im darker and sometimes im lighter in skin tone.

she told me she used 16 joules with a 12mm spot size last time i was in for treatment? which was about a week ago.

areas she has done are my whole chest and abdominals area, and my upper cheeks and neck area on the face.
my neck area is all fine hair now but grows all over my neck instead of just a set area like it did before :frowning:

my chest and abs i haven’t really seen any reduction or fine hair at all… and now my neck hair and chest connects!!!

i cant stand this hair problem!!! why cant they just truly figure out how kill hair follicles simply!?!?!

#4

That’s the problem. If your skin is too dark for those effective settings on this machine, you need a different machine (a Yag), not low settings. Low settings aren’t good for anyone.

The issue is lack of education on their part. Reducing the spot size drops the impact of the laser significantly. There is a reason that max on 18mm is 20j, but 30j on 15mm. On 12mm, max is 40J. Basically, if the spot size is decreased, the joules have to be increased significanly to compensate.

The bottom line is that you need to find someone using an ND:Yag type of laser (and figure out the highest settings your skin can handle on it via test spots). The largest spot size, highest joules, and lowest pulse width you can handle is best.

#5

yeah thats a bummer to hear after about $2,000.00 dollars down the drain with the alexandrite laser! but i felt i needed a different laser.
What about the diode laser? will that work on my skin tone?

and i heard the ND:yag is not as effective as other machines and doesn’t even really give permanent results? should i waste more money?:frowning:

#6

All lasers work well in good hands, i.e. at good settings. Whether you should use a diode or a Yag depends on whether you can handle high enough settings on the diode as it’s slightly more powerful. However, it’s also more difficult to use.

Between the two, I would choose one that’s being used by a knowledgeable clinic. That’s what’s going to make the difference in your results. You can be treated with the best machine, like you were, but with useless settings. So a good machine is not all you need. It’s MORE important to find a knowledgeable clinic/person operating whichever machine they have. And generally, good clinics don’t use crappy machines.